Survey: More People Enjoy Getting Direct Mail From Brands Than Email

Marketers, don’t put all your eggs in the email marketing basket just yet. A new survey shows that direct mail is still a worthy competitor for customers’ attention, with more than half of respondents saying they enjoy getting postal mail from brands about new products.

The data come from a new Epsilon study, The Formula for Success: Preference and Trust, just released this week. A total of 4,800 U.S. and Canadian consumers completed the survey in August.

When asked about email versus postal mail, 50% of U.S. consumers said they give postal mail more attention than email. In Canada, 48% of consumers said the same thing. (see circled item below)

And postal mail delivers more enjoyment: 59% of U.S. consumers said they enjoy getting postal mail about new products, compared to only 43% who enjoy getting emails like that. In Canada, 66% said they enjoy getting postal mail and 55% enjoy getting brand emails. (see arrows above)

But it doesn’t appear to be a trust issue: The last item on the chart above shows that only about a quarter of consumers feel that postal mail is more trustworthy than email.

One reason why some consumers prefer email? Saving on paper. Epsilon reports that this is the main reason for 34% of U.S. consumers who prefer email, up from 21% just a year ago. In Canada, saving on paper is the main reason why 42% of consumers prefer email. Why do some consumers prefer postal mail? “Already get too much email” was the top reason among U.S. consumers.

There’s a lot of additional data for online marketers in the Epsilon study, which can be downloaded in exchange for providing contact information.

About The Author

Matt McGee is the Editor-In-Chief of Marketing Land and Search Engine Land. His news career includes time spent in TV, radio, and print journalism. After leaving traditional media in the mid-1990s, he began developing and marketing websites and continued to provide consulting services for more than 15 years. His SEO and social media clients ranged from mom-and-pop small businesses to one of the Top 5 online retailers. Matt is a longtime speaker at marketing events around the U.S., including keynote and panelist roles. He can be found on Twitter at @MattMcGee. You can read Matt's disclosures on his personal blog. You can reach Matt via email using our Contact page.